1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a software program for displaying tire plus-sizing information. More particularly, the program produces a list of plus-size tires that can be safely used on a vehicle, together with selected wheel specification data, given an original equipment tire size and a desired plus-size wheel diameter.
2. Description of the Related Art
The invention is directed to a software program for assisting a user in selecting appropriate tires and corresponding wheels to “plus-size” tires, i.e., to increase the wheel size while maintaining the tire size. The term “plus-size” is used in the automotive field to indicate that the wheels originally provided with a vehicle are replaced with larger wheels. However, the overall tire diameter must remain substantially the same after plus-sizing in order to avoid problems, most notably incorrect odometer and speedometer readings, or, more seriously, contact of the tire with the wheel well in the vehicle chassis when driving. Therefore, the sidewall height, or section height, of the tire must be decreased to correspond with the increase in wheel size.
Advantages to plus-size tires include: improved overall appearance of the vehicle and improved performance and better handling when driving. The improved performance during driving is related to the smaller air chamber and the smaller sidewall chamber in the plus-sized tires. Also, in order to maintain nearly the same load capacity of the tires required by the vehicle, as determined by the footprint of the tire with the road (i.e., the contact patch area), the tire width may be adjusted accordingly.
Plus-sizing is performed for wheels in increments of 1 inch from 1 inch up to as much as 4 inches. Another term often used alternatively for “plus-size” is “inch-up”. Tire vendors sell such plus-sized tires with corresponding wheels that match with the original equipment (OR) specifications of the vehicle.
The software program includes six graphical display screens that receive input and provide various types of output information to the user that are needed for determining the correct tires and wheels for plus-size application.
Although various computer programs exist on the Internet and elsewhere which assist users in selecting appropriate tires for vehicles, none provide key information regarding tire “plus-sizing” in the manner provided in the present invention. The inventive program fulfills a need for both tire and wheel vendors and drivers who seek to plus-size tires and to ensure that the correct wheels are selected to match the plus-size tire with the vehicle.
More particularly, a display screen of the inventive program uses OE tire size and desired wheel size input data in a unique software processing routine that selects three preferred tire sizes from a comprehensive tire size database into a final based upon the vehicle OE tire size and the desired wheel plus-size.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,483, issued to Jones et al. on Nov. 8, 1994, teaches a computer system for displaying various graphical objects. U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,627, issued to Johnson on Nov. 22, 1994, teaches a computer program for providing textual and graphical information for use in parts selection. U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,484, issued to Nowicki et al. on Sep. 24, 1996, teaches a data logging tire monitor program.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,900, issued to Di Bernardo et al. on Jun. 24, 1997, teaches a computer program that inputs the ground-contacting area of a tire to provide graphical information regarding pressure distribution in the tire. U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,179, issued to White et al. on Jun. 23, 1998, teaches a measurement analysis software system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,908, issued to Nowicki et al. on Aug. 31, 1999, teaches a data logging tire monitor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,704, issued to Green et al., teaches a configurable LED matrix display. U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,676 issued to Egan et al. on Mar. 7, 2000 teaches a computer program for measuring and processing tire depth data. European Patent Application No. 547,364A2 issued to Dory et al. teaches an apparatus and software for measuring irregular tread wear.
There exists a need for a computer program that provides information to users regarding tire plus-sizing, including important parameters, such as bolt patterns, OE tire sizes, thread sizes, offsets and hub bore sizes that ensure that the wheel and tire combination safely match the requirements of the vehicle.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a tire plus-sizing software program solving the aforementioned problems is desired.